Live Rock Color

[robert dri]

I have a 72 in it's first week of cycle.....I put live rock in at the beginng of the cycle..One piece is beginning to turn to a rust color....Really beautiful, but is this normal or something to worry about...Pic is attached

 

[airforceb2]

Is that the only LR piece you added? Where did you get it? It looks like it is covered in algae. Where did you get your lace rock from?

 

[ebsochin]

Looks like you have a diatom outbreak which is normal for a cycling tank. The one piece might have had some algae build up from when you bought it but from the looks of it to me it is pretty normal.

 

[symon]

For a 72 gal tank, i think the norm is like 2 lbs per gal, You need alot more LR and it is showing alge already! See how things look after the cycle!

 

[airforceb2]

You can't really say what the norm is because there are a lot of different types of rock and all weigh different amounts. My lace rock is 4 times more dense than my LR. Marshall Island rock is a lot less dense than figi rock. On average, you can plan to have anywhere from 1/2 to 3 lbs per gallon.

 

[mudplayerx]

My tank had diatom growth all over it after it cycled. Next came hair algae all over the glass. After I added my mexican turbo snails it all went away and never came back. Just don't use tap water.

 

[richie1742]

yeah i had all that rust color alge over my LR a few days into cycle. it was all cleaned after i got my snails and hermits.
good luck!

 

[robert dri]

Yes...i used tap for the initial fill. After learning of the benifits of r/o and d/i I wish I hadn't. What exactly is diatom?

 

[ebsochin]

diatoms I believe are just a build up of nutrients during cycling. Algae feed on these nutrients and thus the brown algae look. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

It is probably more to it than that but simply put it is just an overgrowth and change in your system. Not to worry it will stabilize and disappear with a clean up crew and frequent water changes. HTH.